On Monday, we learned about the chemistry of life. Although this is an AP Biology class, we study chemistry because it is the foundation of Biology.

As many of us have learned across the hall in the Chemistry rooms, everything is made of matter. Matter is made of atoms that are made up of electrons, protons and neutrons.
In this biology course, we only need to worry about ten elements on the periodic table: hydrogen, magnesium, potasium, sodium, calcium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and sulfate. Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are the key elements that our human body is made up of. Phosphorus is in DNA and ATP.

We also went on to learn about the bonding properties and the effect of electrons. Electrons determine the chemical behavior of an atom, depending on the the number of electrons in an atom's outermost shell. The valence shell is nonactive.
Atoms with many electrons in its valence shell have high electronegativity and tend to want to "steal" electrons from other atoms while atoms with fewer electrons have low electronegativity in their valence shell and tend to want to "donate" to other atoms. These atoms with fewer electrons donate bececause they cannot hold that many electrons themselves. These tendencies drive chemical reactions and create bonds. A chief principle that we learned Monday was that when we think of weak bonds, hydrogen bonds should be the very first thing we think of while when strong bonds are mentioned, covalent bonds should be thought of immediately. Covalent bonds are strong because two atoms share a pair of electons and both atoms hold onto the electrons, making them very stable. This forms molecules. The more pairs of electrons shared, the stronger the bond. More is better!


PAGEMASTER will be our next sherpaaaaa!

And That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles!

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Welcome folks, to another exciting round of Biology Jeapordy with your host....

The wonderfully talented (and good looking!) Alex Trebek!

So basically, today in class we covered Critical Periods, Various Animal Behaviors (operant and classical conditioning), Social Behaviors, and BioMagnification. So our categories will be.....

1) Critical Periods 2) Various Animal Behaviors 3) Social Behaviors and.....

4) BioMagnification-----surprise!

CRITICAL PERIODS

So, what are these things anyway?

Critical periods are just what they sound like: critical periods of time in which an organism is expected to learn something, which can usually only be learned within the critical period.

For example, language in humans is learned during a critical period. Children who don't learn to speak within this critical period aren't usually able to grasp the complexity of our language.

Critical periods are interesting, aren't they? Why can an organism learn to do something at one period in their life, but not after that? Like they say, you can't teach an old trick a new dog. Or something like that.

Various Animal Behaviors

To easily understand how and why animals act the way they do, it's best to split the topic up into two sections:

1) Innate Behaviors (or instinctive behaviors)
2) Learned Behaviors

While I would love to take the time to explain both to you, I'm not going to! We learned about learned behaviors today, and innate behavior yesterday. So if you need help on innate, consult Sean's post.

--Learned Behaviors--

Learned behaviors are behaviors that organisms learn throughout their lives. For example, most species of birds learn their song from their parents and the birds around them.


When studying learned behaviors, it is imperative that you know the following terms.

Associative Learning-learning to associate one feature of the environment with another.

Operant Conditioning-trial and error learning; associating behavior with reward or punishment.

Classical Conditioning-Associating a "neutral stimulus" with a "significant stimulus"

Operant Conditioning is easy enough to remember. Just think about Skinner's box, and the mouse's repeated action of pressing the lever to get food.

After pushing the lever for the first time (and every time after that), the mouse gets a piece of food. The mouse then learns to associate the act of pushing the lever with a reward.

The ingenious man who came up with this experiment was B.F. Skinner.

Classical Conditioning should be no problem for us AP students either! Just think about Ivan Pavlov and his experiments with the dog and the bell.

Before each time Pavlov fed the dog, he rang a bell. Then, by just ringing a bell, he could get the dog to salivate, expecting food. This experiment demonstrates classical conditioning because the dog is connecting a reflex behavior (salivating at the sight of food) to associated stimulus (the ringing bell).

Let's give it up for Ivan Pavlov!

(Ivan Pavlov)^^^

Next we should talk about Social Behaviors.

Social Behaviors

To understand the social behaviors of animals, we should know:

Habituation-loss of response to stimulus (think of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", in which animals learn not to repond to repeated occurrences of stimulus).

--Language--
Many animals use some form of language to communicate. Communication between individuals is necessary for mating, protection, and finding food.

Examples of language in animals are the songs birds use to find mates, and the honey bee's waggle dance.

--Agonistic Behaviors--
Agonistic behaviors are behaviors that animals perform to outcompete others. These behaviors are generally not threatening, but are instead ritualistic behaviors performed to impress mates, and to establish a social rank.

--Altruistic Behaviors--
Altruistic behaviors are behaviors which are performed which reduces individual fitness but increases fitness of recipient.

A perfect example of this is found in the Belding ground squirrel. These crazy squirrels make noise when predators are near, endangering themselves but incresing the chance of survival of their families and offspring.

The next important thing to understand is the concept of pheromones.

--Pheromones--
Pheromones are chemical substances that stimulate a response from other individuals. The most common pheromone types are alarm pheromones and sex pheromones.

These are vital to the animals success, protection, and reproduction.



So the next time that sweaty person stting next to you smells of bad B.O., just think....

...is this disgusting, or seductive?

--Cooperation--

Some animals cooperate with eachother to help get food, protection, or resources. This can best be associated with a mutualistic symbiotic relationship, because both individuals benefit.

Examples of cooperation include:

1) African dogs who hunt together in packs to help bring dow prey more quickly.

2) White pelican and dolphins who "herd" fish to make it easier for the whole group to eat.

--Colonial Mammals--

Colonial mammals are those who have a queen, breeding and non-breeding workers, and a whole social heirarchy.

Some examples of these include:

1) Bees

2) Ants

3) Termites

4) Mole Rats

And since mole rats are all your favorite animals to look at.....

And now....... (finally)

BioMagnification

BioMagnification is a pretty easy concept to grasp. Basically, it's just the idea that if a substance is introduced to an organism on the bottom of the food chain, then it will increase in concentration as it travels up the food chain. This is due to the fact that a secondary consumers eat several primary consumers, and get more of a concentration of the substance. In turn, tertiary consumers eat more than one of the secondary consumers, and obtain an even greater concentration of the substance.

So the overall lesson of this post? There is a reason why animals act the way they do, and it's important to know the reason.

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Well anways this is todays lesson.

Ecological Succession

What is Ecological Succession you ask? Well i guess i will answer your question for kicks. Ecological Succession is the changes or sequences a community goes through naturally. This is why we like to mow our lawns (not sure if i said that right) because if we did not, a forest would grow in your backyard, literally (although you must be really lazy and not mow it for about 50+ years). There are two types of Ecological succession:

Primary succession

• This is when an ecosystem is forming life (plants) from all inorganic material (no soil).

• In this succession life must begin from Pioneer species such as, bacteria (a.k.a. beasties), lichens, and mosses, which can break down the lifeless material such as sedimentary rock and use its compounds to release nutrients into the ground making soil and setting the stage for other organisms such as grass.

Secondary succession

• This succession takes place where their had previously been life, usually having been wiped out by some type of disturbance such as Forest fires, and tsunamis.
• This is usually taken place on soil with an abundance in nutrients, making plants grow more quickly.

Order of succession

• First ones to come into play are the pioneer species including lichens, and mosses which can start on both primary and secondary succession. These start releasing nutrients, making soil and initially starting a whole living ecosystem.
• Next are grasses which can tolerate high sunlight, and also set the stage for other plants changing soil pH, and fertility.
• After are shrubs and small trees which are more tolerant to shade and starts to out-compete grass for sunlight.
• The final stage in succession is climax forest, this creates a very stable community, containing tall trees. Once a disturbance such as a forest fire occurs (which eventually must happen because of the lack of available nutrients)

Only if this family had been given Sherpa for todays lesson maybe they would have realized their situation and prevented a tragedy such as this.

Earth's biomes

For starters, a biome is defined as an area of similar environmental factors and ecosystems. This includes abiotic factors such as climate, water, light, temperature, and nutrients, and biotic factors such as animals, plants, and biodiversity. There are many different biomes on earth such as (important biomes):

Marine

• Aquatic Biome
  
• Intertidal zone, where the tide allows for immense biodiversity.
• Shallow water where Coral reefs strive, and aquatic flora (plant life).
• Benthic zone, bottom of ocean where organisms are able to strive without the use of sunlight but by the use of sulfur .
  

Tropical forest

• High Rainfall
• Supports large amounts of Fauna (animal life) and Flora, supporting up to 2/3 of all these organisms.
  
• Large leave trees, broad, woody flanges at trunk
• Tall trees allow for layers of different ecosystems
  

Temperate Deciduous Forest

• North hemisphere, mid-latitude
• Broad leaf trees, (Oaks, Beeches, Maples, and Birches).
• Warm and rainy climates
  

Taiga

• Coniferous forests (woody plants, gymnosperms( needle trees))
• large temperature range between summer and winter
• low precipitation
• Fauna consists of mostly herbivores, not enough energy to support numerous carnivores
  

Arctic Tundra

• Impossible for growth of trees because of low temperatures, and short seasons
• permafrost soil ( permanently frozen soil)
• supports low ground Flora such as liverworts,moss, and lichens.
• low biodiversity
• few species with large populations
  

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tWS7sWKT9Uo

Hola, Well anways this is todays lesson.

Ecological Succession

What is Ecological Succession you ask? Well i guess i will answer your question for kicks.

Symbiosis

Symbiosis: two or more kinds of organisms interact in often elaborate relationships

Types of Symbiosis
1. Competition (-/-): organisms compete for limited resources, when they compete there is less to go around for everyone
Example: Brown-Headed Cowbird & other birds' nest

2. Parasitism(-/+): one species benefits but the other is harmed
*parasites sometimes kill the host thus becoming predation
Example: tapeworm & human

3. Mutualism (+/+): both participating species benefit
Example: clown fish & anemone

4. Commensialism (+/0): one species benefits while the other neither benefits nor is harmed;
*it is often difficult to be certain whether or not the second partner receives a benefit or not, there is no clear cut boundary between commensalism & mutualism
Example: epiphyte

Animal Defense against Predators
Predation drives evolution

(provides strong selective pressure on both predator side and prey side)
Predator adaptations lead to prey adaptations

Predator adaptations: to locate & subdue
Ex: talons, speed, coloration, horns

Prey adaptations: to elude & defend
Ex: spines, thorns, coloration, & toxins

Cryptic coloration (blend in with background)
Aposematic coloration (bright warning to predators)

Mimicry
Batesian: harmless species mimics a harmful model
*convergent evolution: two species on different paths evolve to have the same
structures

Mullerian: two or more protected species look like each other
*predators evolve an innate avoidance (group defense) like people to bees

Community Ecology

A community consists of all the organisms that live together in one place. To be a community these organisms have to interact with one another. Whether its by competition or predation. Community ecology by it self is the study of interactions among all populations in one area.

A common mistake made is the confusion between a niche and a habitat. So what exactly is the difference? A habitat is the place in which an organism lives. On the other hand a niche is the specific job that an organism does within a habitat.

In the diagram above it shows competition within a niche. If the species on the bottom was removed then the smaller (darker species in the picture) species on top will take over and occupy the entire tidal zone. Although at lower depth the species on the bottom will out -compete the species on the top excluding it from the niche.

• Competitive exclusion is when no two similar species can occupy the same niche during the same time (as shown in the diagram above).


• For example: This is why lions and tigers do not occupy the same habitat as one another. Because they both have the same niche.

A micro habitat is a small habitat within a much lager one... for example, in the rain forest each lizard has the same niche. But because they live in different levels of the rain forest there is no competitive exclusion occurring.

There are four different types of symbiotic interactions within a habitat. These interactions affect what goes on in the ecological community. These are the four symbiotic interactions:

1. Competition-(-/-)


2. Predation/ Parasitism


3. Mutualism


4. Commensalism
   

Heyya Period 1&2,
this is what today’s lesson was all about!

We talked about the growth of populations on Earth and the effect they have on our planet. We learned that the Logistic rate of growth can grow exponentially but it is it impossible for it to increase exponentially forever. The logistic rate of growth illustrates the # of organisms in a given environment over time. The variable (K) is used to represent the Carrying Capacity (maximum population the environment can support with no degradation of habitat) and the variable (N), to show the number of individuals in a population. Without natural factors the population would keep increasing exponentially thus exceeding the carrying capacity and devastating the environment and ecosystem. Factors reducing rate of growth as an environment approaches the carrying capacity are but not limited to, competition for resources, mates, nesting sites, disease etc.

The Carrying Capacity (K) can also be altered through changes in an environment. Population Cycles and good years of vegetation or prey can yield increase in population of other organisms. Also this could be reversed. For example in years of drought and lack of resources populations can drop effecting predator prey interaction.

We then proceeded to talk about Human Population growth.

Population growth of humans can be attributed to advances in science and medicine as well as technology and industry. In the year 2005 there were over 6 Billion people on earth and alone china and India held 1/3 of the world’s population. If we continue on like this(82million per year) it is my belief we will reach our carrying capacity.

Developing countries have a higher fertility rate than that of developed countries (90% of births are in these developing countries) to lessen this increase we can educate people to make the decision to not have as many kids.

If people were educated I believe we could curb this increase and

even lessen population growth in the years to come.

An Ecological Footprint (EF) is how much an individual effects the environment.

It compares human consumption of natural resources with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate them.


Finally in response to todays lesson I feel that its our duty as individuals

on this green earth to help stop the injustices done to the enviorment..

As Captain Planet and the Planeteers say "The Power Is Yours!"